Doesn’t matter what people say, Shikhar Dhawan after returning to form

Shikhar Dhawan often sees his terms with the fans blowing hot and cold. A few months ago, the dashing left-hander was routinely trolled for his lesser performance in England and he was seen defending himself saying he always gives his best, irrespective of the results. Dhawan next had a magnificent run in the Asia Cup in the UAE where he picked up the man of the series award after slamming two centuries.

However, Dhawan’s form deserted him in the ODI series versus the Windies at home. He got starts in a number of matches but failed to convert them into big scores. After finishing with just 112 runs in a series in which the Indian batters made merry, Dhawan again came under criticism and falling for just three in the first T20I in Kolkata didn’t help things either.

He scored some runs (43) in the next T20I in Lucknow but gobbled up far too many deliveries (41). It was because of captain Rohit Sharma’s blistering knock of 111 not out off 61 balls that Dhawan’s toil went unnoticed. Nevertheless, he got some confidence back during that innings and came back strong in the final T20I.

Dhawan guided India to victory in third T20I

Dhawan led from the front during India’s chase of 180 and hit 92 off 62 balls to play almost the entire 20 overs but for one delivery. He put up a crucial stand of 130 with wicket-keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant for the third wicket to guide India home and was picked up as the man of the match. The 32-year-old batsman then hit back at the critics saying it doesn’t matter what people say about him.

“It was a good match. We lost two early wickets, and I knew I had to stay at the crease. Rishabh [Pant] played well, a tremendous partnership between us. He batted really well. I knew he was going after the bowlers so I took a back seat and then I joined the party after he hit a few huge sixes. It doesn’t matter to me what people say, and I just back myself and back my game,” Dhawan, who is just 65 short of 5,000 ODI runs, said.

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